The use of high frequency electrodes for heat ablation treatment of functional disease and in the destruction of tumors is well known. One example is the destruction of cancerous tumors of the kidney using radio frequency (RF) heat ablation. A paper by D. W. Gervais, et al., entitled “Radio-frequency Ablation of Renal Cell Carcinoma: Early Clinical Experience,” Radiology, vol. 217, no. 2, pp. 665–672 (2000) describes using a rigid tissue perforating and penetrating electrode that has a sharpened tip to self-penetrate the skin and tissue of the patient. This paper is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. The exposed conductive tip of the electrode is placed in the tumor within the kidney. The electrode has cooling fluid circulating within it to enable larger ablation volumes to be made. Such rigid, cooled, tissue-perforating radio frequency electrodes are available from Radionics, Inc., Burlington, Mass.
The theory behind and practice of RF heat ablation has been known for decades and a wide range of suitable RF generators and electrodes exists. For example, equipment for causing heat lesions is available from Radionics, Inc., located in Burlington, Mass. A research paper by E. R. Cosman, et al., entitled “Theoretical Aspects of Radiofrequency Lesions in the Dorsal Root Entry Zone,” Neurosurgery, Vol. 15, No. 6, pp. 945–950 (1984) describes various techniques associated with radio frequency lesions and is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. Also, research papers by S. N. Goldberg, et al., entitled “Tissue Ablation with Radio Frequency: Effect of Probe Size, Gauge, Duration, and Temperature on Lesion Volume,” Acad. Radiol., Vol. 2, pp. 399–404 (1995), and “Thermal Ablation Therapy for Focal Malignancy,” AJR, Vol. 174, pp. 323–331 (1999) describe techniques and considerations relating to tissue ablation with radio frequency energy and are hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.